PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

MUST-KNOW STORY LINES

The new kids are for real. Arizona and UCLA together pulled in five McDonald’s All-Americans (Arizona’s Kaleb Tarczewski likely would have been a sixth were he not ineligible as a fifth-year senior). UCLA has potential stardom on the wings in Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson, and Arizona completely renovated its frontcourt with Grant Jerrett, Brandon Ashley and Tarczewski.

Bruins ready to rock. UCLA’s freshmen aren’t the only reason Pauley Pavilion will rock. John Wooden’s old place was given $136 million of renovations that include seats closer to the baselines and acoustical features that funnel crowd noise to the floor. There’s also a glass-covered concourse, new seating and restrooms, plus, naturally, a statue of Wooden himself.

Muhammad knows about athletic excellence. His father, Ron Holmes, scored 1,211 points over four years for USC in the 1980s. His mother, Faye Muhammad, is in Long Beach State’s Hall of Fame for starring in both track and basketball. Muhammad—who is still awaiting an NCAA ruling on his eligibility—also has an uncle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs and an aunt who hooped for Cal State Fullerton, too.

There’s plenty to see on TV. The Pac-12’s new media-rights deals mandate national coverage on the families of Fox, ESPN and the Pac-12 Network, with supplemental access online. The only catch is that fans must subscribe to a cable or satellite provider that carries the Pac-12 Network to get everything.

Chasson Randle won’t be a secret anymore. Maybe it’s because Stanford underachieved much of last season and then played its best during a relatively invisible NIT run, but Randle’s name didn’t quite capture national attention. Yet he improved dramatically throughout the season, combining with Aaron Bright for a dynamic backcourt that returns this year.

Give USC the most improved award already. After a 1-17 conference mark, coach Kevin O’Neill added ready-made transfers—guard J.T. Terrell (Wake Forest via junior college), wing Eric Wise (UC Irving) and forward Ari Stewart (Wake Forest)—to join a healthy Jio Fontan, the explosive point guard who sat out last season with a torn ACL. That will help offset the loss of Mo Jones to academic suspension.

Grad students are welcome. The Pac-12 is taking full advantage of an NCAA rule allowing players who graduate with eligibility remaining to play elsewhere immediately: Mark Lyons went from Xavier to Arizona, Jarred DuBois from Loyola Marymount to Utah and Renaldo Woolridge from Tennessee to USC. Meanwhile, ex-UCLA forward Brendan Lane used the rule to seek more playing time at Pepperdine.

Good thing there are plenty of hotel rooms in Las Vegas. After 11 years at Staples Center, where the empty seats didn’t jibe with the image commissioner Larry Scott wants to project, the Pac-12 Tournament moves to the MGM Grand Garden. Never mind that the West Coast, Mountain West and WAC tournaments already are in Vegas, too.

You need bodies to win at altitude. Pac-12 coaches downplayed the new challenge of playing in the thin air at Utah and Colorado last season, but only Stanford, which featured a nine-man rotation, won at Colorado. And Arizona nearly pulled out a win in Boulder only after coach Sean Miller did some creative substituting.

The RPI should improve. There has been a theory that Pac-12’s collective rating often suffers because the conference’s substantial NBA losses in recent years force teams to adjust frantically in the non-conference season, when RPIs are set. But the conference lost only three early NBA entrants last season: Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham and Washington’s Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Brock Motum, Washington State. If the Cougars sink near the bottom of the Pac-12, it might be tough to justify picking the big Aussie for MVP over players such as Arizona’s Solomon Hill or Colorado’s Andre Roberson. But Motum’s numbers will be impossible to ignore because of how many ways he can score and how much the Cougars need his production. He’s an efficient power forward with the ability to create mismatches around the basket or step back for the perimeter shots. He also became a relentless rebounder while playing more aggressively last season.

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

G - Allen Crabbe, Jr., Cal. The Bears’ prolific shooter—he made 83-of-208 3-pointers (39.9 percent) last season—could be even better with more aggressiveness.

G/F - Shabazz Muhammad, Fr., UCLA. Of all the freshman talent Arizona and UCLA pulled in, Muhammad was the top prize, an explosive scorer who will be a dominant force the minute the NCAA allows him on the court.

F - Solomon Hill, Sr., Arizona. The Wildcats’ steadily improving leader will play a more natural small forward this season.

F - Andre Roberson, Jr., Colorado. The bouncy Buff is a fantastic finisher with an evolving ability to create his own shot.

PF - Brock Motum, Sr., Washington State

BEST OF THE PAC-12

Shooter: Allen Crabbe, Cal.

Passer: Abdul Gaddy, Washington

Penetrator: Reggie Moore, Washington State

Shot-blocker: Andre Roberson, Colorado

Leader: Solomon Hill, Arizona

Defender: Andre Roberson, Colorado

NBA prospect: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

Freshman: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

Rebounder: Andre Roberson, Colorado

Transfer: Mark Lyons, Arizona (from Xavier)

Coach: Mike Montgomery, Cal

Recruiter: Joe Pasternack, Arizona

Home-court advantage: Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Washington

FIVE BEST GAMES

Jan. 12 - Arizona at Oregon State. Other than Washington, nobody has given Arizona more trouble in the Sean Miller era than the Beavers. The Wildcats can’t stumble here if they’re serious about winning the league.

Jan. 24 - Stanford at Colorado. Stanford gave Colorado its only home-court conference loss last season, and this rematch could serve as an elimination game for the Pac-12 race.

Feb. 24 - UCLA at USC. Kevin O’Neill’s snakebitten teams have been tired and beat up at this point of the season, but USC should have enough depth to make the crosstown rivalry interesting this time.

March 2 - Arizona at UCLA. A Saturday night showdown at the new Pauley Pavilion during the second-to-last weekend of the regular season could determine the league champ.

March 6 - Stanford at Cal. The basketball version of the “Big Game” could be just that on the final day of the regular season.